by David McAlpine

She was the young blues singer with a soulful voice on this season of American Idol who started out rough, but managed to gain enough votes to last until the final three this season. Earlier this week, Haley Reinhart, the latest American Idol castoff, spoke with the media about her time on Idol and what's next for her.

Q: What was it like singing with your dad on stage?
A, Haley: This was amazing. My parents have taught me the rules of the stage since I was 8 years old. They were there during the first big thing I ever got to do--it was my 9th birthday that day and I got to play the International Tattoo Festival. When I started singing, the tattoo machines stopped and everyone was watching, it was really cool. I think I cried afterward, it was such an amazing feeling. Going from that to Wednesday, it really was a dream come true.

Q: The judges seemed very critical of you this season. Do you think that helped or hindered you?
A, Haley: I think it went both ways. I believe their intentions for it were simply to push me further because it was apparently they liked pushing me so I was at the top of my game. It can go both ways, it's up to America as far as if it hindered anything. I still got to the top three, so I think that's great.

Q: If you could go back and change anything, would you?
A, Haley: I don't live in regret and I don't regret anything I did on the show. Of course there are some things I'd change, I do nitpick, I'm a Virgo, but I don't regret anything. Each step along the way has gotten me to where I am today. There were so many genres and I got to do a bunch of stuff that hopefully showed all of my fans my versatility.

Q: Some people had a view of you as very aloof or not friendly. How do you respond to that?
A, Haley: It's easy to get depicted in different ways on the show with all the ways the cards end up playing out. The footage that was taken usually didn't show me messing around with the camera guys and stuff like that. I'm always bubbly and it's different to see what comes out in all reality. When you're on stage, you've got to perform because there's no one-on-one time and it's really hard to get that all out in a minute and a half.

Q: What are you goals for performing on stage during the tour?
A, Haley: Performing is such a different ballgame in front of the judges. Performing on stage is what I've done since I was a kid and the passion started in the very beginning. Just letting loose, knowing I'm not going to get judged one more time, loving that crowd an looking out into each and every seat and trying to show them how much I appreciate them.

Q: After he got voted off, Casey made it clear you were not dating. What do you have to say?
A, Haley: The rumors started a long time ago, I forgot which week, but we really started bonding more, getting really close, and we started confiding in each other and our bond was definitely closer than the rest. You know, we laughed about it all and obviously we have a really, really strong relationship but the musicality between us has been wonderful.

Q: What qualities do Scotty and Lauren have that make them the American Idol?
A, Haley: As far as the viewers of the show, this is perfect for them. There's a lot of young audience members out there and they're both so darn cute and they've got this country calling for them. It's a country year, you know? Im excited to see what happens, but I can see young America being captivated by these two.

The two-part American Idol finale kicks off Tuesday at 8/7c on FOX.

(Photo courtesy of FOX)

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